Only Old In Body
by Zogeta
Summary: Three really old warriors, two Saiyans and a Namek, muse about aging and poker. Shortish one shot, really fluffy and friendly


Only old in body

By Zogeta

Written:16 June 2005

Posted: 23 October

Summary: The three oldest remaining warriors muse about aging while they cheat at poker.

BONUS UPDATE! Since I'll be away for three weeks this is to make up!

Enjoy!

VPG

VPG

VPG

VPG

It is hard to grow old.

Kakarot was painfully familiar with this. Two hundred and fifty years old and only starting to feel the aches that humans started to get in their sixties. Gone was the supple, perfect body of his youth. But it was like him to find the humour in the situation.

_Well, now I've finally got something in common with Master Roshi besides the kamehameha..._

He sat on his swing bench outside his house, waiting for his two oldest friends to come over for a game of cards. Sure enough, the rumble of a plane was heard as Vegeta landed on his lawn, too old to fly and still too proud to admit it. He opened the door and hopped down onto the grass.

"Kakarot."

_Same greeting, different tone._

Kakarot grinned and waved. "Hey, Vegeta! Did ya bring snacks? I forgot to go to the shops."

Vegeta snorted as he opened the cargo door. "Unlike you, my memory hasn't slipped. Come help me out here."

Kakarot got up with a grunt and went over to the plane, picking up boxes filled with chips and sweets. Bulma had made sure that Vegeta would be looked after for the rest of his life, and ensured that groceries got delivered on a daily basis to Capsule Corp. The Prince of Saiyan raked a hand through his almost completely silver hair as he thought about something.

"Damn. I forgot the cranberry juice."

Kakarot laughed as he patted the Prince on the back. "Now whose memory is slipping? Don't worry about it; I've got enough liquid."

Vegeta closed the door and followed Kakarot to the porch, where a card table was set up. They got bowls from the kitchen and put them down on the table, filling them with pretzels and sweets (none too hard to chew). Goku looked at his watch.

"I wonder where old Piccolo is; it's not like him to be late."

Vegeta smirked, the same smirk he'd had for so many decades that had lost some of its sting. "He probably fell and can't get up."

Goku punched Vegeta on his arm, grinning. "He's still the youngest of the three of us."

Vegeta pulled out a chair and grabbed a handful of Oreos. "He'll be here. He hasn't missed a card game in years."

"And neither have you. Well, except for that time you had that pneumonia scare."

Vegeta absently rubbed at a scar on his chest. "That was just Trunks being paranoid."

Goku poured a glass of orange juice and passed it to Vegeta, who took it with a nod. "He had every right to be paranoid; you're old now."

Vegeta scowled half-heartedly at the table. "Don't remind me."

He looked off into the distance, eyes misting over with something akin to nostalgia. "We were so great, Kakarot. Legends in our own right. And now…" he sighed. "Now we're reduced to this, full of aches and pains and short memories with shells of our old bodies and the smallest fraction of energy. Sure, all the long term memories are still in place, but its only a matter of time before we forget who our mates were…our kids' names, super Saiyan and fusion and all the battles. Don't you find it…anticlimactic?"

Goku leaned back in his chair, hands clasped over his stomach. "In a way, I want to be young again, and be strong like I once was. But we had to face this sometime, Vegeta. I know how you feel, but it hasn't been all that bad. I've grown old, yes, but I haven't had to do it alone. I've had you and Piccolo to take this trip with me, and that made it more bearable. Yeah, I miss sparring with you three times a week, but now we play cards."

A crooked grin. "We've learned to keep each other company in a different way, that's all."

Vegeta smiled, shaking his head slightly. "You know, even though you're six or so years younger than me, you've always been infinitely wiser. I'll admit that it hasn't been all that bad growing old, and eternal youth would get boring too."

Kakarot leaned over and tugged on a silver spike. "Signs of a life lived, Vedge-head."

Vegeta tugged back on Kakarot's spikes. "You're just as gray as I am. And you've got all those laugh lines."

Kakarot pointed to Vegeta's forehead. "I'd rather have crow's feet than frown lines."

Vegeta lightly smacked the hand away. "At least my gray makes me look distinguished. You just look old."

Kakarot grinned. "I hear your teeth clacking! When did you get dentures?"

Vegeta grabbed a handful of chips and flung it at Kakarot. "I do _not_ have dentures! Saiyans never lose their teeth outside of battle!"

Kakarot chucked a cushion at Vegeta, who batted it away and sent more chips flying towards Kakarot. The sound of a throat clearing, however, interrupted their game. Both turned to the source of the sound to see Piccolo standing with arms folded and foot tapping. He shook his head, tutting.

"Two and half centuries old but you still carry on like kids. You two haven't changed despite the silver hair and wrinkles."

Both Saiyans grinned, grabbing cushions and charging towards Piccolo.

"Pillow fight!" they howled, whacking the tall green alien over the head. He stood supremely unaffected for a moment before he simply grabbed the Saiyans by the collars and knocked their heads together. Both yelped and fell back onto their butts, holding the forming bruises. Piccolo laughed and went over to the card table, sitting down and grabbing the deck to shuffle.

"Come, ladies, time to get whipped at poker. We'll start with five card stud."

The Saiyans glanced at each other, and Vegeta go to his feet first, ignoring the pain in his knees. He offered Kakarot a hand, which he gladly accepted. Vegeta took his seat and looked at the hand dealt to him, one hand on his sore forehead.

"You know, Kakarot…your head is still as hard as it ever was."

Kakarot laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, but I still have a scar from when I hit it when I was a baby…and from that time Majin Buu smacked our heads together. That was quite funny, in retrospect."

Piccolo took two cards from his hand. "Dealer buys two."

Vegeta chucked one and Goku bought three. After a moment's silence, Piccolo grunted and threw his cards down. "Bah. Nothing but half a straight."

Goku spread his cards. "Just a pair of jacks. And you, Vegeta?"

Vegeta shrugged and put his cards down. "Full house, aces and kings. Come, boys, hand over those chips."

The other two grumbled and Vegeta chuckled darkly. Piccolo rolled his eyes as he pushed his betting chips over to Vegeta.

"You're still the same sadist."

Vegeta grinned and shuffled the deck.

"I know, isn't it great?"

Goku took a sip of his juice. "None of us have really changed…and I think it's a good thing. Well, Vegeta is much nicer now…he's finally stopped with the death threats."

Piccolo eyed Vegeta. "He's still short."

Vegeta dished out cards. "Height is no indication of brains, Namek."

"_Clearly_."

Goku smiled to himself. More than two hundred years he'd known the two, and he was glad that Fate had thrown these two highly interesting people into his path. Formerly two of his most fanatical enemies and now his best friends and card buddies.

"Stop looking at my cards, Bean Stalk!"

"Oh please, like I need to."

"Well, if I had your luck, I would also cheat."

"Cheating is for those without skill."

Goku put his cards down. "Here, this will solve things. Four of a kind, aces high."

The other two groaned and put down their cards. "How do you always do that, Kakarot?"

Kakarot laughed and drew poker chips towards himself. "I'm like the dog that steals the bone that two other dogs are fighting over."

Piccolo scratched the base of an antenna. "How did the others ever believe you were stupid, Goku?"

He shrugged, one shoulder rising as he absently dropped his chips into small piles. "I kinda made them think that. Made it easier for them to accept me." A big, honest Son grin. "But you know, I never had to lie to you two about it. And I guess that's why we're here today; three old friends cheating at cards."

Vegeta lifted his glass, tipping his head to the side as he did so. "Cheers to that, Kakarot. And cheers to you and the inimitable Green Bean. There's no one else I'd rather grow old with."

END


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